Creating a Budget While Paying Down Debt

Most Americans have accumulated debt in some form, whether it includes an auto loan or with credit cards. Although accumulating debt can increase your credit score, it can also accumulate quickly and be difficult to pay off while putting you at risk of bankruptcy. To pay off the debt in a realistic timeframe and obtain financial freedom, there are a few important tips to follow to create a budget for proper money management.

Cut Out Luxuries

It may not be fun to skip your morning coffee purchase each day or take a sack lunch to work, but paying off your debt will require sacrifice. Think long term when it comes to repaying your debt and exclude unnecessary spending from your budget to ensure that you can pay off more of your debt at a faster rate.

Save an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is essential to avoiding debt and paying it off sooner. Save at least $1,000 to use for unexpected expenses that can include car repairs or medical bills. This will help you to avoid adding more charges to your credit cards by using extra money that is set aside.

Pay Off Smallest Debt First

One of the most effective ways to pay off your debt as quickly as possible is to organize your different accounts according to the smallest amount of debt. Pay off the account that has the lowest outstanding balance while paying the minimum balance on the other accounts each month. Once you repay the first account in full, you’ll feel motivated to continue paying off each account. This is considered to be a snowball effect that allows you to feel accomplished during the process and works a motivator to pay the remaining debt to obtain financial freedom.

Use Cash

Studies show that those who use cash instead of their credit card or debit card to purchase goods or services are less likely to spend as much during the month. Handing over the money and physically seeing what you’re giving up makes it more uncomfortable to make purchases. Separate the cash into different envelopes and avoid keeping credit cards on hand to stay within your budget.

Factor in Inconsistent Expenses

Creating a budget will require that you factor in expenses that are not always consistent throughout the year, which can include paying for car registration or purchasing birthday gifts for friends. You’ll need to set aside a specific amount of money each week to afford different purchases that you normally don’t purchase on a consistent basis.

Use Software

There are a number of different software programs and apps available for computers or tablets that you can use to stay organized and create your budget. After entering in your income and your various expenses, the software will assist you with creating an itemized list of where your money will go. Many different programs will even allow you to create a separate category for debt that needs to be repaid. You can then link your different accounts to the software to ensure that you remain accountable with your budget and can track your money in one place.

The software will even send you reminders of various transactions that took place with your bank account for one of the most effective strategies for managing debt.